


Mommy's Little Hunter Assets

by Lasafara



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel!Cas in a tiny body, Angst, Canon Compliant, Fluff, Gen, Mama Mary, childhood lisping, deaging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2018-12-29 23:25:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12095748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lasafara/pseuds/Lasafara
Summary: When a hunt goes wrong in Blue Ball, PA, Dean, Cas, and Sam are left as preschoolers, with only Mary Winchester around to take care of them. While Mary struggles with balancing hunting with being a sudden single mother and who she can trust while TFW is small, Castiel takes Dean and Sam to a festival with face-painting in Muncie, IN, home of Ball State University, and Claire takes them to McDonald's to enjoy Ronald and the ball pit. While the boys are enjoying their sudden childhood, Mary deals with whether or not to to reverse the spell at all. After all, aren't they happier the way they are?





	Mommy's Little Hunter Assets

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thanks go to my beta stupidbadgers! 
> 
> Artwork by Threshie, they're amazing!!

[](https://imgur.com/ARX6822)

“Hey guys, so get this,” Sam said, walking into the kitchen holding his open laptop. “I think I found us a case!”

“Oh yeah? Where at?” Dean asked, before shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth. Surreptitiously (or so he thought), he moved another piece off his plate and onto Castiel’s plate, who was sitting beside him. Mary, on his other side, was also munching on a piece of bacon, and her plate was covered with the remnants of Dean’s homemade blueberry pancakes. 

“Uh… Okay, so over in Pennsylvania, there’s a small town that something like 20 kids have gone missing in the last two days,” Sam said, staring down at the laptop screen as he spoke.

“Twenty? That's a lot of kids. That place is gonna be crawling with Feds, Sam. We'll never get in,” Dean said, slipping another piece of bacon to Cas and another into his mouth. Cas nodded as he dutifully ate the bacon on his plate.

“Okay, sure, except I'm getting all this from a parent’s blog. Apparently the cops are trying to hush it up, play like the kids all went to some party together. The town is basically a tourist trap, so they don't want to lose business,” Sam replied, rolling his eyes. “Besides, it looks like the town doesn't even have its own police force. They're serviced by the next town over, and it sounds like they're incredibly overworked. Guys, I really think this might be our kind of thing.”

“Wait. This is a town so small it doesn't even have its own cops, but it's a booming tourist town? What the hell is in Pennsylvania to attract tourists to a small town anyway?” Dean asked skeptically.

“The Amish are quite popular, and do live in certain parts of Pennsylvania, Dean,” Cas said.

Dean shrugged. “I guess so. Where exactly did you say this was, Sammy?”

Sam glared, and mumbled something under his breath. Dean waited for a response, but when he didn't get one, he raised an eyebrow. 

“Fine. _Sam_ , where are we going?”

Instead of answering, Sam turned towards the kitchen door. “It'll be a good 15 or more hour drive, so we should get packed.”

“Sam?” Mary asked. “What town is this case in?”

Sighing, Sam turned back towards the table. “Blue Ball, Pennsylvania.”

“Wait. Wait. Are you joking? We finally have an excuse to go to Blue Ball? Hell yeah! We're totally going to drive through Intercourse on the way. This is gonna be great!” Dean said, nudging Cas in the side. Cas gave Dean an affectionate smile, but still rolled his eyes.

*You know neither of those towns’ names originated from sexual euphemisms, Dean,” Cas said. To anyone who didn't know him, it might have sounded stoic, even cold, but Dean just grinned and slapped Cas on the back. 

“Doesn't mean I can't get dirty souvenirs! Come on, Mom, you in?”

Mary saluted Dean with her fork. “Your dad and I did the Intercourse Tour when we were younger. Though we wound up in Paradise.”

Both the brothers made faces at Mary, and she laughed. 

*****

“Dammit, Dean! Will you stop poking me with that _thing_?! I'm trying to drive!” Sam attempted to grab the toy out of Dean's hands while driving. He was not successful. 

“What? Sammy, are you saying you want my Intercourse sword? I never knew you felt that way!” Dean said, laughing as he pulled the sword back out of Sam's easy reach. 

“Go poke Cas with your Intercourse sword! Leave me out of it!”

Dean grinned nearly maniacally, and said, “Cas has his own Intercourse sword, Sammy. _You're_ the only man here without one.”

Sammy groaned. “Guys just. Bother each other, okay? I'm looking for our turn.”

Dean laughed. “This is what you get for deciding to go on the town _bike ride_ , instead of the Edged Weaponry Museum, Sammy! We go to _Intercourse, Pennsylvania_ , and all you want to do is ride a bike? Seriously, how are we related?”

“Okay, come on, seriously, we're looking for Country Squire Motor Inn, okay?” Sam pleaded. 

“Sam, I do not believe we are actually in the correct town. The welcome sign said New Holland. Isn't the town called Blue Ball?” Cas asked. Dean giggled while he talked, though he would have argued the term.

“Yeah, but the town's too small to have a motel. We're only about 5 minutes from Blue Ball.” Turning to Dean, Sam said, “Why don't you make yourself useful, and Google someplace to eat? After that you and Cas can go interview the parents. Mom and I can talk to the police.”

Mary, who'd been dozing in the back seat with Cas, blinked herself awake at that. “We're almost there?”

“So Sam says, “Dean replied. “Hey, I found this place called the Shady Maple Smorgasbord! It says they have a _whole table_ devoted to _just pie_! We have to go!”

“Please tell me they have something healthy….” Sam said. Dean ignored him, already turning in his seat to talk to Cas about what kinds of pie he needed to try. Sam just sighed.

*****

“Oh my god, I don't think I'll ever eat again,” Dean said, walking through the parking lot towards the car.

“That would be very unwise, Dean. Your body will require nourishment in no more than 12 hours, no matter how much you ate,” Cas said. Dean just shook his head and laughed. 

Mary grinned as she headed towards the passenger side door. “It's been awhile since I've had pierogies, but they were excellent.”

Sam just sighed. “Okay guys, yes, the food was good, now can we focus? Dean, why don't you take us back to the motel, so Mom and I can change, and then we'll head over to the police station while you talk to the families? We can meet back at the room tonight.”

Dean and Cas were deep into a discussion of sarsaparilla versus root beer, and why birch beer was not actually alcoholic. Sam rolled his eyes and shoved them into the backseat, before sliding behind the wheel and heading towards the motel.

*****

By the time everyone got together at the end of the day, they were exhausted. The room was a double, and they’d gotten a cot, but with three large men and Mary, it was cramped. Cas sat down in the armchair that was his designated ‘bed,’ and everyone else sat on a bed nearby, “Did you guys find anything?” Dean asked.

Mary shook her head, “The cops are stonewalling us. There’s only 13 of them here in New Holland, and they have too much on their hands as it is. They’re claiming it’s just a bunch of kids playing a game. We got nothing.”

Dean sighed, “Yeah, we got a problem here, no doubt. In the time it took us to get here, another dozen kids went missing. Parents are frantic, terrified for their missing children. The parents of kids who are still around are taking extreme measures. Kids are spooked. The thing is, as near as we can tell, it’s only kids who live in Blue Ball. The surrounding areas are completely unscathed. It’s the weirdest thing.”

“Do you know of anything that would do this, Cas?” Mary asked.

“It’s hard to say. Shtriga certainly feed on children, but they generally leave the bodies, and certainly wouldn’t take this many at a time. There are many stories in history and lore of children going missing, but I can’t say for certain which one it might be,” Cas said. 

“Well, what kinds of things were the parents reporting? Anything that might be a clue?” Sam pulled out his laptop, already pulling up his lore sources and typing in keywords.

Mary shook her head, but turned towards Cas and Dean. Dean leaned back on his hands, and sighed, “Well, the children all seem to be disappearing in the morning, before noon. Siblings all go missing together, even if they aren’t in the same place.”

Cas nodded, “The teachers said that children seemed to just vanish, with no warning. They’d turn their back for a moment, and the child would be gone. Other children would say that the child just walked out the door, or climbed out a window.”

“Oh! And when you were talking to the preschool teacher, I got a chance to talk to a couple of the kids. They said that they heard music?” Dean thought for a moment. “None of the adults reported the music, but the kids all said they heard music just before the missing kids left.”

Cas cocked his head, staring at Dean. Sam kept typing. Finally, Mary stood up. “Okay. I’ll head to the library. Sam, you coming?” 

“Sure,” Sam said, typing a couple more things, and then closing the laptop and standing up to follow her. 

Dean grinned, “Cas and I will hit the bar, see what kind of gossip we can get. See you nerds in the morning!”

*****

The next morning, as the four sat around a table in the corner of the motel’s cafe, they began to discuss their findings.

“It’s definitely just the kids in Blue Ball. Apparently, no one here in New Holland has lost a child, and they seem to think it’s all some kind of prank. Which might be why the cops aren’t taking it seriously.” Dean said, shoving a bite of pecan sticky bun French toast into his mouth.

Sam refused to look as Dean ate the monstrosity that was his breakfast, and took a bite of his Squire Omelette, which, as Dean had put it, was ‘too healthy to exist as a breakfast food’ since it involved broccoli. 

Mary nodded. “So the thing is, there aren’t a lot of stories about kids disappearing in mass groups like this, but of those, there’s only one that seems to actually be town-specific _and_ includes any kind of music involved.”

With his laptop already open, Sam hit a couple of keys and turned it towards Dean. “You ever heard of the Pied Piper of Hamelin? It’s the story of a town of kids all going missing at once, back in the 13th century.”

“That’s the guy with the rats, right?” Dean asked. “He charmed the town’s rats away, and they wouldn’t pay him or some shit, so he took their kids, right?”

“That’s how the later stories go, yes, but the earliest stories don’t mention the rats at all,” Mary said. “There have been all sorts of theories on what happened, but it seems that someone just came and stole all the town’s children, for no reason.”

“Well that’s not creepy at all. So it’s some kind of musical monster, then?” Dean asked.

“We managed to dig up some lore, and it turns out that these pipers were not as rare as you might think. The townfolk of Hamelin found a way to destroy them, and began a private crusade against them after their children were taken. We found one of the Hamelin Hunter’s logbooks online.” Sam took his laptop back and typed a bit more, before continuing, “It says that we need a birch stake wrapped in a dried grape vine and dipped in the blood of a mother. The birch tree symbolizes childhood and renewal, the grapevine enchantment and escape, and obviously the mother’s blood is the love of her children.”

“So, we just like. Stake out a house where kids are gonna be, and then gank the monster, and go home. Sounds easy enough.” Dean said, clapping his hands.

“No,” Mary said.

“No?” Sam and Dean both asked.

“We are not putting an innocent child at risk. Besides, how would we even know exactly which family will be targeted next? I won’t have more children go missing while we dick around,” Mary said firmly.

“I’m not sure we have many other options. It’s not like Dad ever hesitated to use us as bait,” Dean said, shrugging.

Mary went wide-eyed and opened her mouth, though whether she meant to question or argue was unclear. Sam jumped in instead, desperate to head off a confrontation. “What about a mannequin of some kind?”

Cas shook his head. “It’s doubtful that a piper would be unable to tell the difference between a plastic facsimile and a real child. But there might be a way one of us could be the bait. There are several spells possible that would turn back time for an adult’s body, while maintaining the adult’s mind. If one of us could be childlike in form but not mentality, we would be far safer than a real child in that situation.”

“Oh right, like the gingerbread witch?” Dean asked. Cas cocked his head, staring at Dean and squinting. Dean sighed and shook his head. “I’ll explain later. Either way, we’ve dealt with something like that before. Doesn’t seem too difficult. Just gotta gather the supplies, right?”

“We can set up in an abandoned barn in Blue Ball. The disappearances aren’t completely random. It seems to be related to where the oldest siblings in the family are when the mid-morning disappearances happen. Siblings may all go together, but that only makes it _seem_ random. I’m fairly sure if we set up on the east side of town, where the piper has already been, we should be targeted quickly.”

“Only one person should need to be put under the spell. I would be the logical choice, as I am going to still be quite powerful even in the body of a child,” Cas said.

“Which is _exactly_ why you shouldn’t, Cas,” Dean said. “We’ll need you at the top of your game. I can do it. I don’t mind being bait.” It went unsaid that Dean would rather he be the one in danger than anyone else in his tiny family.

“Wait, wait. I agree that it shouldn’t be Cas, but why you, Dean?” Sam asked. Beyond wanting to protect his brother, Sam couldn’t help wanting a chance to experience his mother from a child’s viewpoint, at least once.

“Because I said so,” Dean responded petulantly. 

“Rock paper scissors for it,” Sam replied.

“Fine, but no cheating this time!” Dean said.

*****

“I still say he cheated,” Dean said to Cas as they waited inside a rotting stall in the barn near where Mary was setting up her bowl and Sam was drawing the necessary sigils on the floor.

Cas awkwardly patted Dean on the shoulder, opening his mouth to say something before he suddenly froze, turning his head slightly to one side. “There is something here,” he said softly.

“What? Already? But we’re not--”

All four Winchesters looked up as they began to hear a gentle tone, playing softly from a corner in the barn. It sounded something like a flute, but not quite, ethereal and wistful in quality. 

“Shit!” Mary said. For a split second she was distracted, and a shadow formed over her bowl, issuing a dark powder into the ingredients already there. It was gone an instant later, the powder it had added indistinguishable from the rest of of the ingredients. The musical tone disappeared with the shadow.

“I thought only kids could hear it?!” Dean shouted angrily, coming out of hiding to stand next to Sam, with Cas following close behind.

“That’s what all the lore said!” Sam retorted. They all looked around, Dean and Mary with their stakes at the ready, while Sam and Cas wielded their own weapons. Sam turned to Mary after a few moments of silence. “Finish the spell! I can distract it while you stake it!”

Mary nodded, turning back to her bowl and beginning the incantation as she added her final ingredient. There was a blinding flash, and for a moment everything was silent, obscured by the light. When it faded, Mary blinked towards her boys, just as a ringing cry went up. 

“Mommy!”

Something was wrong, desperately desperately wrong. Where once three grown adults had stood, now there were three little boys, standing in puddles of adult clothing, all of them not even school-aged. Worse, though, was that Dean ( _her boy, just as she remembered him, she’d never forget him_ ) had started crying, and Sam ( _he was so small, he must be barely 2, was he even potty-trained now?_ ) was not far behind. Clearly their minds had become as young as their bodies.

“Wook ou’!” shouted the third boy, Dean’s size, drowning in beige. He was pointing behind her urgently.

Turning, Mary raised her birch stake instinctively, just in time to see the red-striped creature coming at her, claws unsheathed. Dashing forward and ducking under the piper’s arms, she shoved the stake up and under its ribcage, penetrating its heart. Its dying screech had a strangely melodic sound to it, almost as though a sentient flute were breathing its last.

“All right. That should be--” Mary cut herself off as she turned back to her boys. Castiel had stripped out of everything but his undershirt, which looked more like a dress on his tiny body. He currently had Dean wrapped in a hug, while Dean had buried his face into Cas’s neck, apparently no longer sobbing. Sam, clearly younger than the other two, ( _but not young enough, not as young as he should be, it was strange to see him as a toddler when Dean was no more than four, no older than he had been when she had left him in heaven_ ) was standing beside them, thumb in his mouth and his other hand fisted in Dean’s clothing.

“Well damn. Okay, boys. Just. Just stand there, I’ll get started on the reversal spell,” Mary said.

Neither Dean nor Sam responded, but Cas nodded. “Yeth, Mawy. I’ll keep dem wite he’e.”

Mary nodded, sighing. Going back to the table where she’d set up the first spell, she set all of that aside and pulled out the ingredients and a second bowl for the reversal. They hadn’t planned to need enough ingredients for three grown men to regain their proper age, but then, they hadn’t gotten enough ingredients for three grown men to revert, either. Mary knew something about the spell had gone wrong, but she just didn’t know what. 

She quickly mixed the ingredients together, and then spoke the incantation. Although there was a brilliant glow and a fair amount of smoke, when her vision cleared, the boys were still the same. Sam’s lip was quivering, and Dean was beginning to shake in Cas’s arms. Cas pulled slightly away from Dean, enough to verify the lack of results, and then turned to Mary. “I fink you thould take uth back to da motel. Dean’n’Tham are thcared, and we need more thtuff anyway,” he said. 

“Are you… still you, Castiel?” Mary asked, moving around the counter she’d set up on and kneeling next to the small group of children. 

Cas nodded. “I am a angel. It doethn’t matter what my vethel iz. A few decadeth iz nofing in my deve’opment.” His childish lisp made everything he said, despite not being very different from how he normally spoke, utterly adorable. It also made it rather hard to understand. 

Mary sighed. “Okay. Okay. Can you keep Sam and Dean calm, long enough for me to pack everything up into the car?”

“Ov courth,” Cas replied. He began whispering something to Dean, so quietly Mary could not hear, but Dean seemed to calm immediately. Mary quickly turned to gather up their supplies, taking the time to organize things, if only so that everything could fit into the trunk and away from tiny fingers. It also helped her to avoid panicking. What was she going to do now?

*****

Dean was scared. There had been a too-bright light, and smoke, and shouting, and he didn’t know where he was or what was going on or why. He wasn’t sure where Mommy or Daddy was, and he was scared. But he knew the person holding him. As long as Cas was here ( _who was Cas? Why did he trust him? He couldn’t remember, but he knew he did. That was enough_ ), Dean knew things would be okay.

“Dean? Gonna be ‘kay. You stwong, ‘n bwave, ‘n ‘m he’e fo’ you, ‘kay?” Cas’s words were soft, spoken directly into Dean’s ear. After a while, Dean began to relax, and pulled back to look at Cas.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“We’re inna bawn,” Cas replied.

“Cows!” said Sam, piping up from beside Dean. He grabbed at Cas, who pulled far enough out of Dean’s arms to take Sam’s hand.

“Long ago, yeth. Do you feel ‘kay now?” Cas asked.

“Yeah, yeah, ‘m okay,” Dean replied, rubbing his tiny fists into his eyes to get rid of the tears. “Sammy’s okay too.”

“Good. Hol’ my han’, we’e gonna stay togeder, ‘kay?” Cas said, offering his free hand to Dean. Dean took it with a smile, giving Cas a squeeze and nodding.

“Cows?” Sammy asked.

“Later, Sammy,” Dean said. “Promise.”

Sammy nodded solemnly. He stuck the hand Cas was holding up to his mouth and began to suck on his thumb again. “Cows go moo.”

Cas looked at the brothers. “We thould get you’ cloding fic’d.” 

He carefully began helping them out of their jackets and overshirts, tossing those and their weapons towards where Mary was packing things up. Dean, being slightly taller than Cas, was left with an AC/DC shirt that, like Cas’s undershirt, looked more like a dress on him. Sam, however, had nothing that wouldn’t result in him being unable to walk. His toddler body was just too tiny compared to his adult frame. Cas pondered this for a moment, before digging through his own discarded clothing for his tie. Using that and his white button-up shirt, he was able to tie together something that, if one squinted, looked and functioned something like a onesie. Sammy giggled through the process, particularly because Cas’s tiny hands were not as nimble as they had been.

Mary had finished gathering everything and packing it all into the car by the time they were done. “Okay boys, are you ready?”

“Yeth, I beweev tho,” Cas said.

Dean grinned up at Mary. “Mommy, is Cas comin’ with us? Pleeeeeeeeease?”

Mary smiled, her whole face softening as her worry eased. She knew this boy so well. “Of course he is. He’s family, right?”

Dean cheered, with Sammy joining in. Cas shifted on his feet, staring at the ground and slowly turning red. 

“Alright, let’s go kids,” Mary said, leaning over to lift Sam up into her arms. Sam went willingly, curling into Mary’s chest and resting his head on her shoulder. With her other hand, she reached for Dean. He tugged at Cas, and the two boys shuffled to her, Dean taking her hand while gripping tightly at Cas’s with his other one.

“Are we goin’ home now? Only, I told Sammy we could see some cows, and I _promised_ and you shouldn’t break promises!” Dean began, continuing to chatter as they headed towards the car. Mary smiled. 

“We’ll see what we can do, okay?”

*****

Mary was not sure she had ever driven so carefully in her life. None of the boys had carseats, but they all needed them. Instead, she had made a nest of sorts out of clothing and blankets on the floor in the backseat. She settled Sam into one side, and Dean had dragged Cas in through the other door, snuggling both of them close to Sam. They’d all promised to be very quiet and stay down, but Mary was still anxious. Her babies were unsecured and not safe, and if she was pulled over there could be more trouble.

She could hear them, though, all the way back to the motel, whispering quietly and giggling. They seemed to be playing some sort of rhythm game, though Mary couldn’t pick out enough words to tell whether it was simply singing, a nursery rhyme, or a clapping game. Once at the motel, she pulled into a spot as close as she could to their room and parked, taking a moment to relax.

“Are we there yet? Mommy, Mommy, are we there, are we there?” Dean piped up.

“Yes, sweetheart. Are you guys ready to get out?” Mary asked. So much for relaxing.

Dean and Sam cheered, with Cas joining in after some encouragement from Dean. Opening the back door, the three boys tumbled out of the car. Mary was quick to follow. She led them to their room and let them in, smiling as her sons dragged Cas into their antics.

“I’m going to bring some things in. Can you three play quietly in here while I do that? Watch TV maybe,” Mary suggested.

“I’ll take ca’e ov dem, Mawy,” Cas said.

“‘N I’ll take care of him!” Dean proclaimed. “Come on Cas! I wanna watch cartoons!” 

Quickly stepping outside, Mary walked back to the Impala before pulling out her phone.

“Hello?” asked a British-accented voice.

“Hey, this is Mary Winchester. I need a favor.”

*****

Four hours later, Mick arrived. “You’re lucky we happened to be close. I have the carseats you requested, though I haven’t a clue how to install them into your vehicle. I also have a small selection of nappies and children’s clothing.”

“Thank god,” Mary said. She grabbed the package of diapers and picked Sammy up, heading immediately for the bathroom. Immediately the sound of water running came from the closed door. Mick was left staring down two four-year-olds.

“Are you Mommy’s friend?” Dean asked.

“Sort of, I suppose,” Mick replied. He was not particularly comfortable with children, especially, he was finding, when they used to be adults.

“He f’om da B’itith Men ov Ledderz. Hiz name ith Mick,” Cas said to Dean. 

“Wow Cas! You know everything!” Dean grinned and turned to Mick. “He’s right, isn’t he? Didja know he knows all the names on TV? He even knows what people are sayin’ when they talk in other countries! He’s amazin’!”

Cas was very studiously examining his feet when Mick glanced over at him. He chanced a look up and said, “Tank you for da di’perth. Tham waz beginnin’ to thmell.”

“Like poopy!” Dean shouted, dissolving into giggles. 

“Ah. Well. I’m glad to have been of assistance then,” Mick said. What does one even say to an angel in the body of a child?

“Aw you gonna he’p uth find a cu’e? My poweth aw too weak, it theemth.”

Mick stared at Cas for a long moment, then turned to Dean. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to translate that for me?” he asked.

“What’s ‘translate’?” Dean asked.

“He meanth he can’ unterthtan’ me,” Cas replied, looking at Dean with a soft smile.

“Oh. Cas said he wants’a cure, cuz his magic powers aren’t strong enough.” Dean paused, and then turned to Cas frantically, “Wait, Cas? Are you sick? You’re not gonna die, right?”

Mick watched in a kind of detached horror as Cas quickly comforted Dean, even as the child hunter began to melt down. Cas quietly reassured Dean, too quietly for Mick to hear. After a moment, Cas looked back at Mick, “You thaid you had clodin’ for uth?”

Handing over the bag, Mick stood back as the two boys picked through the options. The clothing seemed to excite Dean immensely, and he exclaimed over everything. Cas originally went for plain, functional attire, but Dean quickly convinced him into a bright red dinosaur shirt and orange shorts. For himself, Dean found a blue shirt with a cartoon tiger, a pink tutu Mick did not even know had been in the bag, and green shorts. 

Dean was happily explaining the cartoon on TV to an enrapt Castiel and a too-polite-to-leave Mick, when Mary returned with a clean and diapered Sam. She spotted the clothing bag and dug through until she found the toddler clothing and pulled out a white onesie that read ‘Grandma loves me best!’ and a pair of truck-themed leggings. It didn’t take long before Sam was fully clothed too.

“Boys, can you sit here a moment while I talk to Mick outside?” Mary asked. Cas nodded solemnly at her, though Dean did not stop talking. She took that as an agreement from all of them, and gestured for Mick to follow her out the door. Once outside, she quickly explained what had happened during the hunt, and how the spell had backfired.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. I honestly do not see how it could have happened,” Mick said, looking at her skeptically. “Are you sure--”

“I’m positive. I did everything by the book,” Mary interrupted.

“Very well. We can look through our resources, see what we have that could help.” Mick paused, then continued, “Though… You know, you’ve spoken about how much you feel you’ve missed. Perhaps you should try to enjoy this while you can? It seems like a chance to make up lost time.”

Mary sighed, looking away. “I have to get back to the boys. Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime. We’ll call if we have anything that could assist you with a cure,” Mick said, turning towards his car. Mary turned and headed back into the motel room.

“Mommy? We’re hungry,” Dean said when she walked back in.

Mary smiled softly at her babies. “Sure thing, sweetie. Lemme go put the carseats into the car, and we’ll go get some grub.”

*****

That night, Mary tucked an exhausted Dean and Sam into one of the motel beds. Cas was tucked in next to Dean, with the other boy curled sleepily into his body. Mary used the extra blankets and pillows they had to build a nest around the three boys, so that none of them could roll off the bed in their sleep. When she had kissed Sam and Dean good night, she had automatically included Cas, who looked at her with such shock and wonder that she’d nearly done it again.

Then she went to her own bed and spent a long time staring at the ceiling. What if they never found a cure for this?

...Did she even want to?

*****

Driving back to the bunker with two preschoolers and a preschool-sized angel was quite a bit more of a struggle than she’d anticipated. Mary had gotten in touch with another hunter to monitor the piper situation. She was fairly sure it was taken care of, and the missing children were already beginning to show back up. If it weren’t for her dilemma, she would have stuck around herself, but as it stood, she wanted her babies back at the bunker as soon as possible. They just felt too vulnerable like this.

Unfortunately, tiny bodies had tiny bladders. She’d stocked up on snacks and juice boxes, and had placed Cas in the middle seat in the back, so he could distribute things as necessary. But they could barely drive an hour before Dean needed to potty again, and Sam was getting fussy having to stay in his carseat for so long. She had hoped to be able to get at least halfway through their drive the first day, but they’d barely made it through Pennsylvania before Dean and Sam were too tired and frustrated for even Castiel to be able to calm them. In fact, their agitation seemed to have affected Cas as well, and he had begun to complain too. Sighing, she pulled off at a cheap motel and dragged three grumpy children into the lobby.

“Can I get a room for the night?” Mary asked the bored-looking college student at the desk. 

“Get egg-sta piyowz, Ma--Mommy,” Cas asked, stumbling over the moniker. He had agreed that a four-year-old calling his guardian by her first name would stand out as unusual, but he was still unsure he should be calling her something so personal. Dean and Sam, however, had been delighted when Mary suggested it, so he had supposed he had no reason not to. 

“Right baby, I will,” Mary replied absently, adjusting a sleeping Sam in her arms. She handed over a credit card (though not her own), and took the room key. With a promise that extra pillows would be delivered shortly, Mary adjusted the duffel bag that had their spare clothing, diapers, the most child-friendly weapons she could find in the trunk, and all the snacks and drinks they had left across her shoulder, settled Sam more securely on her hip, and put a hand on the back of Cas’s head. “Grab Dean’s hand for me, Cas, and we’ll go to the room.”

“When are we gonna sleep, Mommy? I’m tired. An’ hungry. An’ I gotta go potty,” Dean said, rubbing his fists into his eyes.

Cas reached over and pulled one of Dean’s hand into his, leaning into Mary’s side as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. “Goin’ now, Dean. Pwomith.”

Mary built the boys their nest again, and it was only a matter of minutes before the two human boys were sound asleep. Cas, burrowed in the nest with Dean wrapped around him, blinked at Mary. “Don’t wowwy, Mawy. We’ll fin’ thomethin’ at the bunke’.”

“I know, baby,” Mary said, pulling the blankets up around the three boys. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to make it there tomorrow, though. And we’re going to have to make a trip to a supermarket and a laundromat if we can’t, because Sammy needs more diapers and we all need clean clothing. Try to get some rest for now. We’ll get started early in the morning.”

With that, she gave Cas one last kiss goodnight and turned off the lights, slipping into her own bed. 

*****

The next morning, Mary decided it would be best to give up on the idea of making it back to Lebanon that day. Small children just did not travel well. Instead, she packed up all three boys and headed for the nearest Acme Fresh Market.

“Acme? Like the cartoon? Mommy can we get some rocket wings like the doggie on the cartoon has? Please?” Dean asked, excited.

“It’s not really that kind of store, Dean. But if you and Cas would like to help, you can help me look for what we need,” Mary said, settling Sammy into the shopping cart seat. 

“Okay! Me’n’Cas are good helpers!” Dean said, grabbing Cas’s hand and pulling him forward. Mary smiled at the two of them and nodded.

“I’m sure, but make sure you stay close while you do it.”

Cas nodded solemnly, and took hold of the cart with his free hand. Dean grinned and stayed with Cas. “Hey, hey Cas, did you watch the Roadrunner cartoons? The doggie buys Acme stuff and then he blows up! Boom!!”

“I wat’ed dem, yeth. It’th a allegowy fo’ Man’s sea’ch fo’ God. It’th vewy funny. I’m glad you wike it,” Cas said seriously. Dean beamed at him. 

“And they go boom!” 

“Yeth. Dey go boom.”

*****

They only got a few hours closer to the bunker that day before they had to stop. Mary hadn’t wanted to, but Sam, Dean, and Cas were all getting fussy, and after an exciting day in the supermarket looking for ‘rocket wings’ and diapers, there was no real way they were going to get very far. Unfortunately, ‘a few hours’ did not manage to get them out of Ohio. 

Mary had just finished getting the boys into bed when her phone rang. She gave Cas a quick kiss and quiet instructions to keep Sam and Dean put while she took the call, and then stepped out of the room.

“This is Mary,” she said, standing where she could see through the window into the room. She trusted Cas explicitly, but she couldn’t help being concerned. “Yeah, I’m actually right near the Ohio/Indiana border now…. I... It’s just that things are kind of complicated right now…. Of course…. You’re right. Of course I can get there…. Just a quick salt and burn, right? No problem. It’ll be fine…. Sure, I’ll head out in the morning. I should be there by noon…. All right…. All right…. Bye.”

Sighing, she leaned back against the wall for a long moment. Her family was important, and she needed to get the boys back to the safety of the bunker. But it wasn’t okay to just let people die either, not when she could do something about it. It’d be fine. Everything would be fine. The boys would understand. Hell, if they were themselves, they’d probably do the same thing. This was the right thing to do.

She hoped, anyway.

*****

The next day she pulled into Muncie, Indiana and into the Roberts Hotel. Unpacking everyone into the room, she turned on the TV to cartoons and set Dean and Sam up with some snacks. Then she pulled Cas aside.

“Baby, I need to go take care of something real quick, okay? I’ll be back in time for dinner, I’ll get everyone into bed, and then I’ll probably have to head back out again. Can you take care of the others for me?” she asked the tiny angel seriously.

“I can. Ith thith a hun’?” Cas asked.

“Yes. Just a quick salt and burn. Apparently a boy caught in a fire has been haunting a house on West 9th street. We’ll be able to get back on the road tomorrow, I promise,” Mary said, giving the angel a hug. “I’ve left enough snacks and juice boxes for the day, but I’m going to give you my room key, too, in case something happens. You’ll have to let me in when I get back. Don’t let anyone else in. You have your cell phone. I’ll call you when I’m ready to come in. Call me if you need me.”

“We’w be okay, Mawy,” Cas said. 

“You’re supposed to call her ‘Mommy,’ Cas! Cuz she’s your mommy too!” Dean hollered from in front of the TV. 

“Wite. We’w be okay, Mommy.”

Mary smiled softly, pulling Cas into another hug and dropping a kiss onto his cheek. Then she went over to Dean and Sam and gave them each a hug and a kiss and quiet instructions to pay attention to Cas. With a final wave, she left the room. Cas stood at the door until he heard the Impala’s engine fade away, and then went to sit down beside the brothers. Sesame Street was on, and he was quite fond of Mr. Snuffleupagus.

*****

After an hour or so, Sam and Dean were starting to get restless. The television could only hold their attention for so long. Mary had left plenty of snacks, but Sam and Dean had already eaten, and digging through the food wasn’t terribly interesting anyway. Mary had taken all the weapons with her (except for Cas’s angel blade), which was probably for the best, but left very little to do. They also had no children’s toys.

This all quickly resulted in three very bored tiny people, and Cas decided it was time to do something about that.

“Tham, do you nee’ a di’per chan’e?” Cas asked. 

“No poopy!” Sam said, grinning. 

“Dean, you thould go to da bafwoom. We’e gonna go out. Kay?” Cas asked, turning to Dean. Dean cheered and ran for the bathroom. After a moment the toilet flushed and he raced back out as fast as he could, while still trying to adjust his pants and the pink tutu he insisted on continuing to wear. Mary had barely gotten it off him to wash it.

Cas carefully packed a plastic grocery bag with some snacks, some extra diapers, his cell phone, and the room key. Slipping it onto his shoulders like a backpack, he reached one hand for Sam and the other for Dean. “Hol’ my han’. We’e gonna go play inna pawk.”

The two brothers cheered, and Cas carefully took them out the door and through the hotel. No one paid a lot of attention to the three children walking carefully through the lobby and out the door. Once outside, the boys walked hand in hand down the sidewalk. They came up to a huge statue of a Native American, and Dean looked up in wonder.

“He’s so handsome! Who is he, Cas? Is he a hero? I bet he’s a hero. Can we go look at it closer?” Dean said, continuing to talk even as they got closer to the statue. Sam grinned and attempted to pull away from Cas to run ahead, but Cas wouldn’t let him.

“We can go clother, yeth. Thtay wid me, Tham,” Cas smiled at the younger boy, and they walked up to the statue. Sam nodded seriously at him, but as soon as they were at the statue, he pulled away and reached up to it. 

“Wanna climb,” Sam said. Dean shook his head.

“No, Sammy. You gotta be good. We can look, but we’re not allowed to climb on it cuz that wouldn’t be very nice,” Dean said. Sammy quickly lost interest in the statue, and instead began examining all the flowers planted around it. Cas saw no real harm in letting him pick a few, so he merely kept his eye on Sam, while he listened to Dean elaborate on what kind of things he thought the Native American had done to deserve a statue. He saw no real reason to join the conversation, though, as Dean seemed quite happy in his own imaginings. Instead, he nodded and hummed when necessary, and otherwise simply did his best to make sure Sam stayed close and out of the road.

The statue could only hold their attention for so long, and eventually they moved on, crossing the street again to get into the park. There seemed to be some kind of festival going on, and Sam and Dean quickly got excited.

“Look Cas! There’s face-painting! Can we get our faces painted? I want a unicorn! Or a tiger! Or or or a mermaid!!” Dean was practically bouncing as they walked towards the small collection of booths. Sammy began to clap, and even Cas relaxed enough to smile. 

“I thuthpothe tho. Thammy, do you wan’ you’ fathe pain’ed?” Cas asked the toddler seriously.

“Yes yes!” 

The three boys got into line, with Dean mulling very seriously over what was going to go on his face. The lady at the face-painting booth smiled at them when their turn came. Sam went first, and, because he was unable to hold still, ended up with a somewhat lop-sided puppy face on his cheek. The lady showed him in the mirror, and he was extremely pleased, so it was fine. Dean made Cas sit down next, and Cas looked up at the lady seriously when she asked him what he wanted to be.

“I am a angel. I do not withth to be anyfing elthe,” he answered. The lady laughed, and then began to draw on his face. Cas tried very hard to be still, unsure of what to expect. When she finally stopped and showed him his face in the mirror, he was mildly confused. He now had a halo on his forehead, brilliant white wings trailing down from it to span across his cheeks, framing his face. On one side, a harp peeked out from the feathers of the wings. 

“Do you like it?” the lady asked. Cas squinted at her, and then back at his face.

“I canno’ play a hawp.” 

“Well, you’ll just have to learn,” she said, grinning as she helped him down off the seat and motioned to Dean, who had been watching over Sam. Cas sighed, and took Sam’s hand, keeping the two of them off to the side while Dean got his face painted.

When his face was done, a cowboy-mermaid on one cheek and a tiger-unicorn on the other, Dean hopped down happily. “Let’s go do something else now!”

The lady looked at the three of them, suddenly pensive. “Where are your parents?”

Dean and Cas glanced at each other, both aware that they should probably not answer that question. With a quick thanks, they dragged Sam back into the crowd to find something else to do. 

[](https://imgur.com/jlxp36J)

There was, in fact, a lot to do. There was a bean bag toss, a horseshoe throwing contest, and a variety of other things to do. It was certainly more than enough to keep three preschoolers occupied, and it wasn’t long before Cas was doubled over in laughter, watching Dean very seriously try to throw a ball at a target to dunk someone. 

That was about the point that a police officer came up and knelt beside Cas. “Hey there, son. My name is Ray. What’s yours?”

Cas straightened up immediately, sobering quickly. “Cathtiel.”

Ray looked at him a moment, attempting to parse that into something that sounded like a normal human name. Finally he nodded. “I see you’re here with your brothers. You’re having a lot of fun, yes?”

Nodding, Cas flicked his gaze towards Dean. Although Dean’s hunter instincts were all but gone, he still knew how to read Cas, and he was already edging away, pulling Sam with him and towards the crowd, where he could disappear. He was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and looked up in fear at the man in uniform standing above him.

“Hey, kid, it’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you. We just want to talk,” the man holding Dean’s shoulder.

Sam burst into tears.

*****

The boys had been ushered into a quiet area of the park, where the two officers could kneel and chat with them without an audience. Cas was gripping Dean’s hand tightly with one hand, and the other held onto his cell phone. Sam was currently wrapped tightly around Dean’s waist, still sniffling quietly and refusing to look at the officers.

“Can you tell me your names?” Ray asked gently.

“I’m Cathtiel, wike I thaid. Thith ith Dean, and Thammy. I pwomith if you let uth go, we won’ get in twouble. We’ll jutht go home. We didn’ mean to innerfewe.”

Ray looked at Cas, and then glanced back at his partner, who had introduced himself as Jake. Jake just shrugged.

“You’ll just go home? Is that what you said? And where is home, exactly?” Ray asked. 

“I am takin’ cawe ov my bruderz, and we know whewe home iz. It iz okay. I am a angel, an’ am pewfec’wy capabuw ov wookin’ af’er my bruderz. You can weave now,” Cas said, trying to deflect.

“You sure are an angel, kid. That facepaint is great. You think they’ll make me a dragon?” Officer Jake asked with a grin.

Cas sighed. “We aw fine. I am a weal angel of da Word, and we do no’ need you’ he’p.”

“Be that as it may, son, I can’t let three preschoolers wander around unchaperoned. Now, how about you come down to the station, and we’ll see if we can help you get home, okay?” Ray offered, holding his hand out to the boys.

Cas cocked his head, and then held up his phone. “I’mma call my mommy, kay?”

The officers leaned back, unsure. Officer Jake chuckled. “You know how to use that thing, kid?” 

“Yeth.” And with that, Cas dialed Mary’s number. Frustratingly, it rang a couple of times and then went to voicemail. Cas sighed. “Mommy, we aw at da pawk, an’ we nee’ you pwease.”

Sighing, he looked over at Dean and Sam. He needed help, and he just didn’t have the power to get out of this situation on his own. With a great deal of reluctance, he dialed another number. “Hewwo? Cwowwey? I nee’ you’ he’p.”

*****

It wasn’t often that ‘Feathers’ showed up on Crowley’s phone, not since that mess with the Leviathan, but that didn’t mean Crowley wasn’t going to answer it. Any chance to get under Castiel’s skin was worth the mild irritation of having to actually speak to him. But he definitely did not recognize the voice on the other end of this phone call.

“Hewwo? Cwowwey? I nee’ you’ he’p.”

“Who the bloody hell is this? How did you get this phone?” Crowley demanded, angrily.

“I can ethplain lader. Fo’ now, I nee’ you to come to Munthie, Indiana. Dean an’ Tham an’ I nee’ thome he’p,” said the voice on the other end. 

Crowley pulled his phone away from his ear to stare at it for a moment, confirming that yes, this call had come from Castiel’s current number. Putting the phone back to his ear, he growled. “I swear, if you bloody Winchesters have gotten yourself into another bloody mess…”

There was a muffled noise on the other side of the phone, and then a voice came on. “This is Officer Ray. Is this ah… Cath’s parent or guardian that I am speaking to?”

Crowley growled again and hung up. It looked like he had some scrying to do. What the hell were the Winchesters dragging him into this time?

*****

“It appears your parent or guardian has hung up on me,” Ray said to Cas. Cas sighed. He knew calling Crowley was a long shot, but… Nudging Dean and Sam slightly behind him, Cas stared at the officer defiantly.

Before anyone could do anything, Cas’s phone, now in Ray’s hand, began to ring. The officer stared at it blankly, and then glanced down at Cas, who glared up at him. Sighing, the officer swiped the green button, even as Cas squawked indignantly and tried to grab for his phone. Given that Cas was not even four feet tall, this was highly ineffective. 

“Hello, this is Officer Ray. Is this the parent or guardian of three young boys?” The officer asked. 

Cas, unable to do anything else, especially with his angelic powers currently so nerfed, finally resorted to the only solution he could currently think of. He began to scream. Even with his powers diminished, Cas’s voice was powerful, and he didn’t need to breathe in order to cycle air through his vocal chords, so the sound went on and on and on, longer than humanly possible. The officers both gripped their hands to their ears, but the minute Dean went to run, Officer Jake grabbed for him and Sam. 

Finally Officer Ray waved at Cas, gesturing at him to stop. Cas paused for a moment, looking ready to start again at any moment, but the officer handed over Cas’s phone. Cas immediately put it up to his ear.

“Cas? Cas? What’s going on? Where are you? Who was that? What was that noise?” Mary asked, desperate for information.

“Hewwo, Mommy. We aw at da pawk.”

“What park? How did you get there?” Mary was frantic. She had nearly finished what needed to be done for the case, and was terrified that something had gone wrong. Cas should have been more than capable… But he was so tiny, and so many things could go wrong…

“We wawked. It’th the pawk wit’ da Nadive Amewican. Dere’th a faiw goin’ on. Bu’ da copth got mad at uth for comin’. Dey won’ let uth go home withou’ a gwown-up. Can you come thoon?” Cas said, sounding astonishingly calm.

“I’ll be there in five minutes or less. Can you let me speak to the cop, please?” Mary said, feeling both calmer and more upset. Cas would not have been so calm if something bad had happened, but at the same time, he didn’t understand much of human society, and having the cops involved could make things very very complicated.

Cas handed over the phone to the officer, and then turned back to Dean and Sam. Dean immediately grabbed Cas and pulled him into a hug. “Cas I’m scared,” he whispered.

“It’th okay. Mommy will be hewe thoon,” Cas replied, wrapping his arms around Dean and Sam, who was still huddled against Dean. The officer spoke quietly on the phone for several minutes. Cas did not bother to listen. Mary would take care of that end of things. For now, he needed to make sure his… his brothers were safe.

*****

The officers had walked with them over to a nearby church, where the pastor, who had been helping out with the fair in the park, had opened the doors and set up a small play area for the three boys. He’d also brought in a small plate of sandwiches and chips, and three small bottles of milk. Sam and Dean ate greedily. They’d eaten before they’d left the hotel, but had largely forgotten about the snacks Cas had packed, until now. Cas was slower about eating, but when the pastor began to get concerned, he picked at his food. Mostly he was watching his surroundings. The officers were standing outside the door, just out of hearing range, talking quietly to each other. Cas did not like feeling trapped, and he felt responsible for the Winchester boys right now.

Mary showed up quickly, before they had even finished their food. She stayed outside the door with the cops, having an animated conversation with them. It took some time, and all three boys had eaten their fill and began to play before she came inside. When the door opened, Cas immediately stood up and walked to Mary. “I’m thowwy, Mommy.”

“Oh, baby, no, it’s my fault. I’m just… I’m so glad you’re okay,” Mary said, picking Cas up into her arms and giving him a hug, settling him onto her hip. He seemed mildly confused and a little uncomfortable, but Mary needed to be holding her boys right now. “I was only gone a bit. Why did you leave?”

“We got bored!” Dean said, hopping up from his spot on the floor. Sam followed, running over to Mary.

“Mommy! Look! Doggie!” Sammy exclaimed. Mary smiled down at her boy and nodded. 

“That’s very nice, Sammy. Are you ready to go home now?”

All three boys nodded. Still holding Cas aloft, Mary reached down for Dean’s hand, and he grabbed Sam’s. She turned to the officers and smiled her sweetest, least sincere smile. “Thank you so much for your help, officers. I need to get the boys home now. We appreciate you taking such good care of them.”

The officers shared a glance, and the older one sighed. “We’ll be in touch, ma’am. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Mary was quiet as she got the boys settled into their carseats, and then pulled away, driving randomly into and out of residential areas for a while before she finally broke. “Goddamn assholes. They’ll ‘be in touch’, will they? Screw them.”

“Asshole asshole!” Sam shouted, and both Cas and Dean started to giggle. Mary chuckled as well, glancing back in the rearview mirror at her boys. Her family was good. It was so so good. With one last thorough check to make sure she wasn’t being followed, she headed back to the hotel. 

*****

Mary had done everything she needed to do to make sure the hunt went smoothly, so she decided it was for the best to go ahead and go through with it, and then leave in the morning. She tucked the three boys into bed, and then slipped out, taking the room key with her so that she could get back in without waking the boys. 

Cas lay there in the dark, quietly listening to the Winchesters breathe, when he felt the air in the room change. Looking up, he glared at the corner.

“Cwowwey. You’we abou’ thith hou’th late,” he said.

“Oh my. I thought I was being pranked, to be perfectly honest, but this? This is too good,” Crowley answered, stepping out of the shadows. 

“I did no’ caww you to make fun, Cwowwey.”

“Cas?” Dean murmured, rubbing his eyes as he woke up. “Something wrong?”

“No,” Cas replied. “We haf a viz’tor.”

“Don’t tell me. That’s little Dean, there, isn’t it? And Sam? How old are they now? This is precious!” Crowley grinned, clapping his hands. “And you, Castiel! Did you or Jimmy have the lisp as a child?”

“Angelz don’ haf a chiwdhood, Cwowwey. Da compawithon ith compwetewy iwwogicaw.”

Crowley laughed so hard he had to sit down. “I can’t understand a bloody word you’re saying! It’s beautiful!”

“Don’t laugh at Cas! You’re mean!” Dean cried, sitting up and glaring at Crowley.

“I’m a demon, love. Of course I’m mean,” Crowley replied, wiping his eyes as he tried to stifle his laughter. 

They all startled at the door opening, and Mary slipped inside, sweeping the room with a gun until she rested her aim at Crowley. “Who are you and why are you in my hotel room?”

“Ah, the matriarch. Are you saying you don’t recognize me, my dear?” Crowley asked.

“Crowley. Let me restate that. What the _hell_ are you doing here?” Mary demanded.

“The baby angel called me earlier today, requesting assistance. I had some things to take care of, but I’m here now,” Crowley replied, gesturing at the bed with the boys.

Mary glanced over at Cas, who shrugged and nodded, and then turned back to Crowley, not lowering the gun. “Thank you for your concern. As you can see, we’re fine.”

“Oh, you are far from fine, my dear. Suddenly a single mother, and with a baby angel no less? Does he even have any powers at this size? Or does size not matter to angels?” Crowley asked, soliciting a glare from Castiel. “It seems you could use some help restoring them to their rightful ages. It would be unwise to leave them like this after all. Perhaps I could be of some assistance?”

“You? You’re a demon. I don’t think so. Get out of here before I blow your head off,” Mary snarled. She knew the boys trusted Crowley, at least to a degree, but she did not, and especially not when they were so vulnerable.

“Fine fine. But keep in mind my offer. As adorable as this tiny family is, we need the Winchesters in their gigantor forms. And if the angels find our tiny Castiel, well… They won’t hesitate to take advantage.” With that, Crowley vanished, leaving Mary pointing a gun at the air. She stayed there for a long moment, waiting for something else to happen, before she finally shoved the gun away and rushed over to her boys.

“Are you guys okay? Tell me you’re okay,” she said, wrapping her arms around Dean and Cas and clutching them to her chest. Sam was still sound asleep, and only murmured softly in his sleep when she petted his hair.

“We’re okay, Mommy. He just laughed at Cas, that’s all.”

Mary laughed almost hysterically at Dean’s comment, and nodded. “Good. Good baby. Go to sleep, and we’ll get out of here in the morning, okay?”

“Did da hun’ go well?” Cas asked, still somewhat mushed against her chest.

“Yes, baby. Go to sleep, okay? We’ll be home tomorrow.”

Cas did not bother to point out that he did not sleep.

*****

The drive back to the bunker was a long one. The normally 12 hour drive would have been easy before, but it stretched out into several more hours because of the frequent stops the children required. Mary, however, was not willing to make another overnight stop, not until she reached safety. The threat of cops, of CPS, and of demons kept her wide awake and alert, and she pulled into the garage in the wee hours of the morning, with two boys passed out in the backseat and Cas apparently dozing, holding hands with each of them.

She pulled Sam out of his carseat first, and he grumbled and sighed, but did not fully wake up. With him in her arms, Mary walked up to the bedrooms, debating for a moment before she settled him into his own room in the center of his bed. Leaving briefly, she stripped Dean and Cas’s beds of their blankets and pillows, and then went back to Sam’s bedroom and built the nest around him while he slept. Then she went back down to the garage and to the other side of the car, gently pulling Dean out and into her arms. Cas, though not sleeping exactly, still barely moved, eyes closed. Tucking Dean into Sam’s bed with him, she went back down, and was both pleased and concerned to see that Cas was still strapped in and dozing. 

Mary had a little more trouble lifting him out of the middle seat, but managed, and then snuggled him close into her arms. He blinked his eyes open and murmured, “Mawy?”

“Mommy,” she corrected, rubbing his back as she carried him up the stairs to Sam’s room. “Are you tired?”

“Thowt ov. I uzed my Voithe on the offithew, an’ I do no’ haf the powewth I onthe did. It… theemth to haf had an effec’,” he said, laying his head down into her shoulder as she continued petting him.

“Sleep, then. Thank you for protecting the others. I’ll take over now, okay? You’re safe. You’re all safe,” Mary said. She tucked him in next to Dean, and helped him snuggle in, where Dean grabbed him and wrapped himself around Cas. She stayed for a while longer, gently singing ‘Hey Jude’ to the three children until she was positive that all three were asleep. Then she unloaded the Impala, storing everything into the bunker where it belonged, made sure all the necessary sigils were still intact, and then, only then, did she allow herself to relax. She collapsed onto the couch in the living area, pulled a blanket over herself, and fell asleep, half an ear open to the slightest noise that might indicate danger.

*****

The problem with living in a bunker, Mary discovered very quickly, was that it was not actually childproof. The boys woke up sometime around midmorning, or at least that’s when they left Sam’s bedroom. She woke up shortly after, to find that Sam had found some kind of artifact on the way to the living room and was now using it as a chew toy. 

“Sammy! No! Don’t put that in your mouth!” Mary jerked upright, reaching forward to quickly and gently extract the small statue from the toddler’s mouth. Sammy’s eyes began to well up, and it was very clear he was about to start bawling, so Mary lifted him up into her arms, settling him into her lap and began a makeshift singing and bouncing game until he calmed. Once he’d started laughing, she relaxed, setting him down on the floor and putting the artifact up onto a high shelf.

“And where are your brothers, Sammy?” she asked.

“Breakfast!” Sam replied.

“Right. Well, hopefully they’re in the kitchen too, right bug?” Mary headed for the kitchen, finding Dean and Cas in the kitchen, attempting to climb onto the counter. “Well, I guess you guys are hungry, huh?”

All three boys loudly agreed, and Mary laughed. “All right, all right. Let me see what I can do, okay? I think I can manage some cereal.”

*****

While the boys were busy eating, Mary stepped into another room and pulled out her phone. “Hello, Ketch? I assume you’ve heard about our predicament here.”

“Indeed. It’s quite fascinating, actually. And you say you have no idea how it happened?” Ketch asked.

“None. If the piper were able to do this, wouldn’t it have reverted when I killed it?” Mary paced the room, checking the kitchen every once in a while to make sure the boys were still occupied and safe.

“That is generally how these sorts of things work, yes. We haven’t found anything on our end as of yet, but it is likely only a matter of time. That is, of course, if you were serious about wanting a cure,” Ketch trailed off.

“What do you mean by that?” Mary demanded angrily, trying to keep her voice down so the boys didn’t hear her.

“Well, we’re happy to help, of course, but you have commented on several occasions that you wish you could have been a better mother to the boys.The Men of Letters are more than capable of wiping out the threat here, with only minimal help from you. You have a chance here that very few people ever get. You can raise your children all over again, be the mother you have said you want to be,” Ketch said, wording things very carefully. He didn’t mention that having the option of not needing to win over the Winchester men would make his organization’s job easier, nor that having the angel so much smaller and weaker would make him less of a threat. “Why not look at this as your second chance at a family? If you like, we could even take in the angel--”

“You’ll take my boy over my dead body,” Mary growled.

“Of course, of course,” Ketch replied, placating. “I meant no offense. I simply mean to say that if you wished to retire to being an… on-call hunter, shall we say, then no one could think the worse of you for it. You have said that this is what you have always wanted.”

Mary sighed, quiet for a long moment. “I’ll think about it. Let me know if you find anything, okay?”

Ketch agreed, and they hung up. Mary stood in the doorway of the kitchen, holding the phone and watching her boys as they laughed over breakfast, smiling softly. The picture was nearly perfect, and she couldn’t imagine giving this up.

*****

The next couple of days were spent largely doing research in the bunker library and making runs out to the nearest store to get baby supplies, frozen meals, and some small toys to help keep the boys occupied while she was busy. Mary wouldn’t admit it even to herself, but the research was only half-hearted. When she had first come back from Heaven, it had been hard to find a place for herself. Even losing herself in hunting had only been a way to deal with the trauma of coming back to find her babies fully grown. Now, with three boys depending on her, she felt that she’d found her purpose again. At the very least, that she’d found her heart again.

So it was difficult when, three days later, Sam’s phone rang. Mary had set all the phones up in the war room, carefully labeled as to whose was whose, since there were several phones to keep track of. Things had been quiet until then, and she was feeling a little trepidation when she answered.

“Hey! Mary, right? Is Sam around? I have a case, and I was thinking the boys could come up and help me out with it. Claire’s here for a while, if Cas is interested, and of course you’d be invited. I haven’t seen any of you since Asa Fox’s wake, and it’d be good to get together,” Jody said when Mary picked up.

“Ah… Things are a bit complicated right now…” Mary replied.

“You guys need help? The case can wait,” Jody sounded worried now, and Mary was quick to attempt to reassure her.

“No no, we’ll come up. It just… You’ll see when we get there, okay? Send me an email, fill me in on the case, and we’ll leave for your place tomorrow. We’ll be there for dinner,” Mary said, trying to think about distances and driving times for traveling with preschoolers.

“Sure thing. I’ll be sure to break out the fine china!” Jody laughed, and they exchanged a few more details on the case before hanging up. Mary sighed.

This was good. This was a good thing. She’d be able to talk to Jody, and Jody would surely have some suggestions for fixing this. That was the important thing, right? That she fix this. Of course, it seemed that even Cas had adjusted to life as a preschooler, and all of them appeared to be perfectly happy the way they were. But leaving them like this… Wouldn’t that take away all their memories of John? She couldn’t be selfish. She could make more memories with them once they’d regained their rightful ages, but John couldn’t. Neither Ketch nor Mick had called her with any solutions, but Jody had a wide network.

It was going to be okay. With that, she began packing. After all, traveling with three preschoolers was an adventure in and of itself. 

*****

The Impala, with its very distinctive sound, rumbled its way down the street to park in front of Jody’s house. Mary stopped the engine, and was in the process of releasing the children from their carseats when Jody opened the front door.

“I figured I’d come on out since y’all---What the---” Jody started, going wide-eyed at the sight of a four-year-old running around on her front lawn.

“Uh. Surprise?” Mary said, setting Sam on the ground to join his brother, and reaching across to unbuckle Cas.

“When did… How… Where are the boys?” Jody asked, stumbling over her words as she stood staring from the porch.

“We’e wite he’e, Jody. It’th nithe to thee you again,” Cas said, smiling up at Jody. 

“Cas? That’s Cas, isn’t it? Cas, what the hel--heck happened?” Jody knelt down in front of Cas, looking at him square in the eye. 

“We had a mishap with a spell. We’re still working on getting it fixed. Cas, can you get the others and bring them inside?” Mary turned back to Jody and smiled. “I hope you don’t mind? Dean and Sam are typical preschoolers, and I can’t leave them alone with Cas for that long. It’s not fair to him.”

“No, no! Come on in, yeah. I’ve still got some of Owen’s old toys, we can set those up and you can tell me what happened. Maybe we can come up with a solution.” Jody stepped aside to gesture at the front door, and Mary walked in with her duffel bag. Cas quickly herded the other two boys in as well, and Jody followed, shutting the door behind her.

Jody settled everyone at the table, and then went to her fridge and sighed. “I guess the beer isn’t going to work for this. Orange juice okay?”

“That will be fine,” Mary replied. “I have some juice boxes too.”

“Great. Well, I made lasagna today, so let me just plate that up and y’all can dig in.” Jody began dishing out food in the kitchen, while Sam used his fork to poke Dean.

“Mommy! Make Sammy stop!”

Mary shook her head and gently reached around Sam to guide his hand back down to the table. Jody set the first plate in front of him, and Sam was quick to lose interest in the fork to double-fist the cheesy noodles in front of him.

“....probably should have taken his clothes off before dinner,” Mary said with a sigh.

“Oh! Yeah, here. Grab some napkins, we’ll clean him up a bit and strip him down. Dean, Cas, this is a messy meal, why don’t you strip off too?” Jody lifted Sam out of his chair and held him while Mary cleaned his fists enough for them to get him down to his diaper. Dean gleefully stripped down to his underwear as well, though he put his tutu back on. Cas was slower, but finally sighed when Dean prodded him.

As soon as Sam was back in his chair, his hands were back in the pasta, and Jody handed out the rest of the plates quickly. Without children’s spoons, it was all but impossible for any of the boys to get food to their mouths with utensils, though Cas gave it a good solid try. Finally, however, all three of them had resorted to messily shoving handfuls of sauce and cheese and noodles into their mouths. 

Once Mary and the boys had plates, Jody excused herself to go upstairs. Within a few moments, Alex and Claire came downstairs, stopping in the doorway in astonishment. “Damn. I was sure Jody was kidding,” Claire said.

“No offense, you guys, but I think I’m going to go to the library,” Alex said. “This is too much weird for me.”

Cas looked up in sorrow, but Alex had disappeared before he could say anything. He stared down at his pasta covered hands, unsure what he could say to make the situation better. Before he could decide on the best course of action, Claire walked up to his chair and ruffled his hair. 

“You know she doesn’t mean anything by it, Cas. Don’t get your diaper in a bunch.”

“I am no’ weawin’ a di’per, Cwaiwe,” Cas responded, looking up at her seriously.

“Oh my god. Oh my god. Are you kidding me? That’s… That’s got to be the funniest fricking thing I’ve ever heard. Alex is gonna be so mad she missed this!” Claire burst out laughing, doubling over even as Cas glared at her.

Jody walked in a moment later and gestured Claire to a chair. “Laugh at the Winchesters later, Claire. Eat now.” She turned to Mary, “I sent some money with Alex. I think she’s gonna find a friend to stay with for the next few days.”

“We didn’t mean to run her out of her home…” Mary said, unsure.

Claire waved the concern away. “Nah, she gets like this whenever hunters come over. History, you know?”

Mary nodded. Over dinner, everyone stuck mostly to neutral topics, things like the hunt, what they’d been doing since the last time they’d gotten together, TV shows, and other mundane sorts of things. Cas listened with half an ear, but Dean was very seriously explaining to him the best way to eat their lasagna, and Sam was happily slamming his hands into his dish, sending sauce in all directions. Cas was, despite all odds, enjoying leaving the responsibility to someone else. He couldn’t do much of anything right now, and that was okay. Dean and Sam still believed in him, and it was all okay.

After dinner, Jody sent Claire to go make up the master bedroom with the baby nest Mary had described. Jody planned to sleep in the bedroom Alex and Claire shared when they were both home, with Claire. Meanwhile, Jody and Mary herded the boys to the bathroom, where a warm bath was filled. Getting Dean out of the tutu was a chore and a half, but within moments all three boys were dumped into the bath. Jody grinned as the boys all stared in wonder at the brightly colored glittery water.

“Been saving that bath bomb for a special occasion. Can’t think of a better one than this,” she said, pulling out a couple of wash clothes and handing one to Mary. “You get the squirmy one, I’ll get the other two.”

Between the two women, it didn’t take long for the boys to get clean, and the water to turn a strange pasta blue. Jody had pulled out a couple of bath toys that she’d stored under the sink, and they let the boys play for a while, so that they could take turns getting dry themselves.

When Dean and Sam began to droop, Jody grabbed her fluffiest towels and carefully wrapped each boy up in one, scrubbing them dry as she did so. Cas smiled softly at her when she ignored his protests that he could dry himself. Once she was done with them, Mary shuffled them one by one into the bedroom and helped them into pajamas. Finally, all three were tucked into their nest, with enough room for Mary to curl up beside them later. It didn’t take long for the sound of Mary singing ‘Hey Jude’ to send Sam and Dean into dreamland, and Cas curled around them, happy to stay beside them through the night. Once they were asleep, Mary slipped out of the darkened room to go discuss the next day’s plans with Jody and Claire.

[](https://imgur.com/FpVVfCZ)  


*****

By the time the boys woke up the next morning, Jody and Mary were gone, already out for the hunt. Claire was sitting at the kitchen table when they tumbled into the room, eating a bowl of cereal. 

“Thanks to you guys, I’m stuck here with babysitting duty,” she said, glaring at the three boys.

“We don’t need a babysitter! We can take care of ourselfs!” Dean said, glaring at the older girl. 

“Yeah! Go ‘way!” Sammy chimed in.

Rolling her eyes, Claire stood up and pulled down three bowls from the cabinets and began pouring Lucky Charms for the boys. “Yeah yeah, short stuff. You can’t even reach the counter.”

“Fank you, Cwaiwe,” Cas said, pulling out a chair and helping Sam up into it. Dean scrambled into the chair next to Sam, and then pointed Cas to the one on his other side. 

After breakfast, Claire herded the boys into the living room, where it turned out that Jody had pulled the last of Owen’s toys out of storage and set them up. There wasn’t much, mostly Matchbox cars and some stuffed animals, but it was all new to the boys, who gleefully began a rather confusing game involving a lot of running with toys and screaming. Claire mostly sat on the couch with her phone, holding a toy lion that she would make roar when prompted.

At noon, Claire stood up. “All right, boys. Your mom gave me like fifty bucks, and I don’t feel like cooking. Let’s go grab some burgers.”

Cas grinned. “Dat maketh me fery happy,” he said.

The drive to McDonald’s was full of Dean’s chatter about burgers. Mary had reluctantly left the Impala for Claire, since it had the carseats. Claire was reveling in the chance to drive it. Dean was busy expounding on the joys of bacon on burgers when they pulled into the parking lot.

It wasn’t until they got inside that Sam began to whimper. Cas looked down at his friend ( _brother?_ ) in confusion. Dean, on the other hand, dashed over to Ronald McDonald eagerly. “Hi! Hi! I’m Dean! I like your feet!”

Claire headed for the register immediately, keeping an eye on Dean as he chatted animatedly with the clown. Sam, on the other hand, had Cas’s hand gripped in both of his, frozen in place and hiding behind the child-sized angel.

“It’ll eat me,” Sam told Cas urgently.

“I won’ led id, Thammy,” Cas replied. While Claire had taken the direct route, Cas carefully guided Sam around the edge of the restaurant, avoiding Dean and Ronald. 

“Scary,” Sam said as they got to Claire. She absently patted Cas on the head, and ordered Happy Meals for the boys. 

Cas tugged on her shirt when the cashier asked about which toys the boys wanted. “Dean wan’th da pwintheth one.”

Claire choked back a laugh, but dutifully ordered two truck meals and a princess meal. Then she sent Cas and Sam to go find a seat while she waited for the order to be made. They edged their way back around the restaurant to find a seat as far away from where Dean was still happily occupied with Ronald as they could. A few minutes later, Claire arrived with a tray laden with cheap fast food, and hollered for Dean to join them.

Dean came running, leaving Ronald to interact with another group of kids that had arrived. He shoved in next to Cas and Sam, putting Claire alone on the other side of the table. Claire quickly distributed the meals, and the boys dug in excitedly. 

“I gots a wand!” Dean shouted when he found his toy. He swung it around dramatically, nearly knocking over his soda. 

“I’m gonna take it away if you don’t eat,” Claire warned.

Hugging the wand to his chest, Dean shook his head, and then picked up his burger, taking a big bite. He grinned as soon as he did, saying something through his mouthful that might have been _It’s got bacon!_ but it was impossible to be sure.

It was near the end of their meal that Ronald wandered over to say hi. Dean stood up on the bench energetically, using his wand to point to each member of his group as he introduced them. Sam buried his face in Cas’s side.

“Come on, Sammy! Don’t be a baby! He’s nice!” Dean glared at his brother, poking him with the wand.

Sammy raised his head, lip trembling. “Not a baby,” he said.

“Then say hi,” Dean demanded.

Sam looked up at Ronald, who gave him a small wave. Ronald cautiously stuck out his hand for Sam to shake. “How’s it going, friend?” the clown asked gently.

Sam looked at the hand, and promptly screamed. “Not a friend! No touch! Don’t eat me!”

The wail went on and on, with both Cas and Dean attempting to calm him down. Ronald, knowing when to back off, quickly moved on to another table. Claire sighed, and gathered up their trash. Once that was disposed of, she shoved all three boys out the back door and into the play area.

Once outside, Cas and Dean were able to calm Sam’s cries, and Claire sat down on a bench nearby. “We got plenty of time to kill, brats,” she said. “Go play in the ball pit or something.”

It took a few moments, but in short order all three boys had stripped off their shoes and deposited their toys next to Claire.Then they all scrambled into the ball pit. Before long, Sam had found a playmate about his own age, and the two of them settled into a ball-sorting game of some kind. There didn’t seem to be any real logic to where the balls were placed, though if someone interfered or attempted to help the two fussed until they went away. The little girl and Sam spoke to each other entirely in babble speech, but clearly fun was being had, and that was the important thing.

Dean, on the other hand, decided he and Cas needed to be at the very top. With quite a bit of nudging, he successfully coaxed Cas to the highest point, where he screamed and waved until Claire rolled her eyes, looking up from her phone and waving back.

Eventually, Dean, Cas, and Sam were pulled into a rowdy game of tag with the other kids there, and they all ran screeching about the structure as various parents reminded them not to run. Before too much longer, Claire had Sam and Dean sprawled half-asleep across her lap, while Cas sat on the floor leaning against her legs. She sent off one last message and then sighed.

“All right, buttheads. Time to go home and nap,” she said.

“But I’m not tired!” Dean cried. Cas nodded in agreement.

“I am a angel. I do no’ wequiwe napth.”

“Too bad. Come on, get moving.”

With far more whining that was strictly necessary, the boys made it to the car. Claire shook her head fifteen minutes later as she pulled up to Jody’s house. All three were passed out in their carseats. It took a little doing on her part, but she managed to get them all into bed, and then flopped down onto the couch, turning on HBO. It was the perfect time, she figured, to get caught up on Big Little Lies.

*****

The drive to the hunt had been spent planning, and during the hunt the women had focused their talk on coordination. But the drive home was long, and there wasn’t much that was more interesting than three grown men who were currently too young for kindergarten. Jody listened intently as Mary related everything that had happened over the last week or so.

“Well hell. That’s a damn mess, for sure,” Jody said when Mary wound down.

“I know.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. If I could have Owen back… Well. Even when you’re sure it’ll turn out all wrong, it’s still an impossible choice,” Jody said quietly, not looking at Mary.

“I have to fix it though. John… If they grow up all over again, won’t they forget John? I can’t do that to them, or to John. I can’t take away their father like that…” Mary sighed, staring out the window.

“I ain’t telling you what to do or not to do, but I am gonna tell you this. Erasing that man out of their lives would be a damn blessing. I know you loved him, and he loved you, but he was a poor excuse for a father and a poor excuse for a man, for all that he was a damn good hunter. Dean spent his whole life being parent, provider, and protector to Sam, and on good days John only bruised him up a little for it. From what I’ve heard, John raised those boys to be soldiers, when he wasn’t busy chasing rumors and drinking, and convinced Dean he wasn’t worth shit. All the problems that boy has with trust and self-worth, they all came from that damn man.” Jody slowly unclenched the steering wheel, and sighed. “Look, those boys have had a hard life, and it started the day you died. John stopped caring about being a father. If anyone deserves a second chance like this, it’s them. It’s you. If you can put them first over hunting…”

Mary was silent as Jody trailed off. Finally, she quietly asked, “Was he really that bad?”

“From what I’ve been told, losing you drove him crazy. He drank, and he hunted, and it fell to Dean to be the parent. I look at them now and… God, Mary, I’ve never seen those two so unburdened.” Jody shook her head. “I’ve never seen them so happy.”

Mary looked stricken. “What should I do, Jody?”

“I… I don’t know. When Owen came back… I couldn’t have turned him away, even if I had known how it would end. If he came back now…” Jody went quiet for a long moment. “You gotta do what’s best for your boys, and trust yourself to know what that is.”

Mary nodded. The two women fell into a sad, thoughtful silence, and only the sound of the radio filled the rest of the long drive home.

*****

It was the wee hours of the morning when Jody’s car finally pulled into the driveway. Opening the front door, the women’s attempt to not wake anyone was ruined by Claire.

“Oh thank god!” the girl said.

Mary and Jody stared at the scene before them. Claire was sitting on the couch, bouncing a crying Sam. Dean was sitting on the other end, staying stubbornly awake even as his eyelids drooped. Cas was navigating the remote control, apparently watching a children’s show about a family of tigers.

“They wouldn’t go to bed without some hippie song I don’t know the name of, and they wanted to watch Mr. Rogers but that’s been off-air for ages so we found some spinoff with tigers and now we’ve watched the same damn episode four times. _Save me_.”

Jody snorted and Mary grinned, rolling her eyes. Mary picked up Cas, while Jody grabbed Dean, and, with Claire bringing Sam, they got the three boys upstairs. Mary laid Cas down on the bed and then took Sam from Claire for a diaper change. Claire escaped down to the living room while Jody and Mary got everyone settled. Jody left while Mary sang to them, going to take a nice long shower and get the residue from the hunt off.

Claire was sitting on the couch when Mary came back from putting the boys to bed. “I don’t know how you do it,” Claire said.

Mary shrugged. “Mostly, I’m making it up as I go, honestly.”

“Bet you can’t wait to get the spell broken though. They’re cute, but they’re one hell of a handful.” Claire grinned, but then raised an eyebrow when Mary didn’t respond. “You _are_ going to fix this, right? I mean, you can’t just leave them like this.”

“It might be for the best, Claire. I missed… I missed their entire childhoods. I missed everything--” Mary began.

“So what? This isn’t about _you_. This is about them getting their lives back!” Claire said angrily, just shy of too loud. 

“I know that! But shouldn’t they have a chance at a real childhood? I’ve heard the stories about them. I just… If I could give them a shot at a real life, a life outside of hunting, don’t I owe them that much? Doesn’t _everyone_ owe them that much? I could be a real parent to them, we could get new papers… They wouldn’t have the threat of the authorities hanging over them… They wouldn’t… I just want my boys to be happy,” Mary finished, staring at the floor between her feet.

Claire took a deep breath and blew it out in a huff. “Look. Alex and I, neither one of us had a great life. Sooner or later, it all went off the rails. And sure, it’s nice to daydream about what it would have been like if it hadn’t all gone down the way it did. But it’s just a daydream. If things were different, I wouldn’t have known Jody, or you, or Castiel. I wouldn’t be _me_. You get it?”

“But what if you could be someone _better_? Someone who was safe, and happy, and--”

“You’re kidding, right? I’ll deny it if you tell a soul I said this, but those guys? They’re heroes. Sure, they could be _normal_ , but that doesn’t mean better.” Claire looked up for a breath, and then quietly continued, talking to the ceiling. “People depend on them, you know? And they care so much. I can’t believe they’d choose to stay like this. I sure wouldn’t. Even if… Even if it brought my parents back.”

Mary stared at Claire, unsure of what to say to that. After a moment, Claire stood up abruptly. “Anyway, I’m heading out in the morning. Catch you losers later!”

All Mary could do was watch her go.

*****

Max and Alicia weren’t far from Jody’s when Mary called, on their way to their own hunt, and were more than happy to stop by for lunch and to talk shop on their way through. Max was able to do a couple of “discovery” spells, and while it didn’t solve the mystery of how it had happened in the first place, it did give him a clue on how to fix it. Max left Mary with a spell and a list of ingredients, and instructions to call him if it didn’t work.

After the twins left, Dean turned to Cas. “Max is really pretty,” he said. “Do you think he’d be my boyfriend?”

Cas wasn’t very good at hiding his emotions, but still tried. Sam piped up instead.

“But Cas is you’ boyfriend!”

“No!” Dean said, and Cas’s heart broke across his face. “Cas is my wife! You can only have one wife cuz that’s forever! But you can have lots of boyfriends!”

Sam nodded solemnly, and Cas blushed, looking at the floor. Mary smiled at the exchange and turned to Jody.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality. I think it’s about time we got home. I’ll, uh… I’ll have Sam call you when they’re back,” she said.

Jody smiled, a melancholy look in her eyes. “It was no problem,” she said. “It’s been nice to have children in the house again.”

The women shared a somber look, so many things between them that couldn’t be said aloud. They were mothers who’d lost their children too young, forced to make impossible decisions. It would never be discussed, at least not sober, but it was enough to _know_ that there was someone out there like them, someone who understood their pain and could empathize.

Then Mary piled the boys into the Impala, and they headed back to the bunker. It was a long drive, but Mary relished every minute of it. Dean, in his pink tutu, still clutching his princess wand. Sam, who shrieked excitedly every time they passed cows. Cas, with his nearly incomprehensible lisp, telling Dean stories of myth and wonder, with his strange sense of humor that made Dean giggle out of sheer confusion.

It felt like she was driving into the end of the world.

*****

It was late when Mary finally parked the Impala back in the bunker’s garage, and for the last time, she carried each boy up to their nest in Sam’s room. If her voice broke a little as she sang ‘Hey Jude’ to them once more, none of the boys was awake enough to comment. 

The next morning, she got up early, to clear space for drawing the sigils she needed. The ingredients for the spell were fairly easy to obtain, and what she hadn’t been able to get on the way back, she was able to locate in the bunker. After everything was ready, she went to the kitchen. It wasn’t long before the boys came charging in, screaming something about angel knights and warrior queens. Mary poured cereal for them, and watched quietly as they shoveled the Lucky Charms down.

Then, she changed Sam’s diaper, and finally gathered all three boys to the storeroom she’d prepared.

“Mommy? What’s going on?” Dean asked, looking around dubiously.

“We’re going to play a game, baby. It’s a magic game,” Mary said.

“But you look sad, Mommy,” Dean replied.

“Oh baby,” Mary said, wrapping her eldest in a hug. “I am, a little. But it’s okay. Can you go stand in the circle with your brothers?”

Cas looked down at himself as Dean walked over to him. “Mommy? Ith thith thpell goin’ to tange ouw cwodin’ too?”

Mary paused. “I… I’m not sure.”

“Id might be betht if we undwethed, den,” Cas said seriously.

Nodding, Mary said, “You’re right. Those clothes will choke you otherwise.”

“We’re playing a nakey game?” Dean wiggled happily, stripping bare in no time.

“Nakey! Nakey!” Sam shouted as he followed suit. Cas was slower about it, but in short order all three preschoolers were naked. It was apparently quite exciting, given the amount of giggling and dancing going on.

Mary laughed. “All right, all right. Stay in the circle and give me your best nakey dance while I do the magic words, okay?”

All three boys (at least, after some encouragement from the human ones) wiggled and giggled and squirmed, carefree one last time, while Mary performed the spell. There was a blinding light, and smoke, and then a shriek went up.

“What the hell?!”

When her vision cleared, Mary saw three grown men standing in front of her. Sam and Dean were both brilliantly red. Sam had both hands clutching his junk, while Dean was using one hand to cover himself while wielding a sparkly pink wand in the other like a deadly weapon. Cas stood nonchalantly with his hands at his sides, as though he were always naked.

“Dude! Cover up!” Dean shouted at him, while Sam scrambled at the fabric on the ground, finding his toddler shirt to hold in front of himself.

“Why?” Cas asked. “We all have the same parts.”

“My mom can see you!” Dean sputtered, finally tossing the wand aside in favor of covering himself more completely. 

“Dean, Mary has been assisting us in bathing and toileting for over a week now,” Cas pointed out rationally.

“Do it for me, okay?” Dean begged.

“We bathed together as well. I do not understand, Dean.” Cas looked down, examining himself. “Am I somehow malformed?”

With that, Sam dashed out of the room in a sort of skip-hop, waving a hand behind him as though to fend off anyone seeing his ass. Dean went an even deeper shade of red, sacrificing junk coverage to hide his face in one hand. Mary was doubled over in laughter, wiping her eyes. Taking pity on Dean, she gestured to the door.

“Get. I’ll clean up.”

Dean dashed frantically for the door, taking the turn into the hallway at a skid. Cas watched him go, and then turned to Mary, cocking his head thoughtfully.

“Are you going to be okay, Mary?” he asked.

Mary smiled softly. “I'll be fine. Go get dressed.”

Cas nodded and headed for the door. Mary called after him as he left, “And I told you to call me Mom!”

*****

_Late that night, after everyone had retreated to their rooms, Dean slipped down to the storeroom where they’d changed and found the corner where Mary had stashed their children’s clothing and toys. Pulling out the tutu and wand, he went back to his room, carefully burying them in the bottom of a drawer._

*****

It took a few days, but eventually the awkwardness around each other faded, and Mary and the boys settled into something that could almost be considered normal. 

As near as anyone could tell, no one had actually spoken to each other about what had actually happened, pretending instead that it never happened. But the differences were clear in little ways. Cas was less cautious in his phrasing, and didn’t leave by himself anymore. He always took someone with him, no matter what he was planning. Dean was freer with his affection, most notably with Cas, but no one was safe from his sudden indulgence in mostly-platonic PDA. Sam and Cas also seemed closer, sitting close as they looked over books in the library, and sharing their love and knowledge of history. 

And Mary found herself more intentionally included in their little family, as well. Dean seemed less bitter, with fewer misconceptions and false expectations, and Sam less wary, more willing to trust. Mary smiled. Maybe she could have it all in the end as well. 

It wasn’t perfect, but it was theirs. It was theirs to make up as they go along. Together. And that was what mattered the most.


End file.
